Use Cases for 3D Underwater Inspection

The UVision 3D scanner can be used for underwater inspection across a number of sectors including energy, civil infrastructure, maritime, and bio-diversity monitoring.

Offshore Wind Turbines

Underwater inspection of offshore wind turbines is crucial for ensuring their structural integrity and operational efficiency. These inspections help in identifying potential issues early, such as damage or wear from marine environments, thus preventing costly repairs and downtime.

Bridge Foundations

The erosion of supporting material around a bridge foundation, also know as river scour, can be a serious problem for the integrity of a bridge. A 3D model allows the river scour to be detected, measured and evaluated. Its development can be monitored over time by comparing with earlier 3D models, giving a good basis for deciding when the time is right to take action.

Harbour Walls

When planning work on a harbour wall or any other underwater infrastructure it is important to know the existing state. In the case shown here the old wooden piles from the initial 17th century construction can be see as well as more recent attempts to reinforce with a sheet pile wall that can only be seen underwater. The scan is an effective way of demonstrating the needed scope of work in the offering phase, as well as documenting the work that has been performed.

Ship Hull Inspection

The state of the propeller, rudder, sacrificial anodes, paint, biofouling and general condition of the hull can be easily checked and documented. For smaller boats this can be done with the pole based solution from the boat itself and ROVs can be used for checking of larger ships.

Pipeline Inspection

A photorealistic model gives a very detailed overview of underwater pipes. Several 3D scanners can be mounted on a rig to capture the full diameter of the pipe.

Waterways Inspection

Dams, locks, weirs and other waterway infrastructure can all be inspected and 3D models created of the important areas for future comparison.

Bio-Diversity Monitoring

The state of the sea bed can be captured by the UVision 3D scanner and used to identify and record flora and fauna. We can implement AI algorithms to automatically identify and categorise sea grass, mussel beds, coral reefs or other wanted monitoring targets.

Tunnel Inspection

Tunnels that are full of water and need maintaining for example old mines and around dams and hydroelectric power plants, can be inspected using the UVision scanner. In this case shown here the scanner was mounted on the compact VideoRay Pro5 ROV.

Archaeology

Documentation of underwater sites of interest such as ancient ship wrecks can be enhanced by capturing them as 3D models, giving the possibility of a more detailed inspection and understanding. It is possible to examine the models using Virtual Reality headsets to get a more immersive experience of the environment.